« Back21% suggest English Market type-use for former Denny site in Tralee

Tuesday, November 29th, 2016 at 5:45 pm.

Over a fifth of people surveyed have suggested they would favour an English Market type use, similar to that in Cork, for Tralee’s Island of the Geese site.

Kerry County Council published a summary of 766 submissions received from the public in relation to the future use of the former Denny Bacon Factory, gifted to the people of Tralee by Kerry Group in 2014.

The council engaged in six-week non-statutory and informal public consultation process to establish views in relation to what should become of the 2.3-acre site at the Island of Geese.

Almost one third of a total of 766 respondents suggested a mixed use for the site.
A breakdown of preferences found 20.8% favoured arts and culture inform the site’s development.
20.66% specified the site be developed for social and community uses.
18.28% sought it be used as a public amenity space, while 15.54% touted sports and recreational use of the site.
10.86% of the public said the site should be developed as a retail space, with 9.37% saying it should be developed for tourism.
2.76% said it should be developed as a residential space, with 1.74% saying office space development would be preferable.
In the comments section of the survey, 21% of respondents said they would like to see the area – or part of it – used as a farmers’ market, food market similar to the English Market in Cork.
Almost 7% proposed a skate park for the site.
Mayor of Tralee, Cllr Terry O’Brien said the level of engagement was unprecedented and provided a useful consultation template for the future.